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How do you know when it's time to put your dog to sleep?

He’s only 8 years old, already has arthritus and he’s deaf. He struggles to walk and it’s hard to watch him like this. He has tablets to help treat his arthritus, but they don’t seem to be doing anything. He doesn’t play anymore, but he still eats his dinner fine. I don’t want to put him down yet because he’s still pretty young but it seems like he’s in pain. :(

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Answer #1

It’s an extremely hard decision to make, especially since pets come so close to our hearts that they actually become best friends or special parts of the family. But I think it’s important to consider when the quality of your pets’ life is no longer ‘fair’ to it. If the pet is suffering really bad and doesn’t have any chance of getting better, it may be in your pets’ best interest to stop the pain and try to help them the best way possible. It will be hard if you decide to, but I’m sure dog knows just how much he is loved. Before making any decisions, however, perhaps try talking to his vet about the quality of your dogs’ life and his conditions and try to see if your vet can share any point of view.

Answer #2

Just one thing to add to what Mel said: The one thing that makes the biggest difference in your dog’s life, and that makes a certain amount of pain bearable, is the quality and quantity of the time he can spend sharing love with you and your family. One way to think about how you can know when the time has come is to watch for when he starts to give you signs that the pain is beginning to become severe enough to interfere with his (not your) enjoyment of that.

Comfort and healing to you both.

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